Kansas City police are investigating a fire that burned a family out of its home as a possible arson.

The fire started early Tuesday near East 24th Street and Poplar Avenue, just after the family's three children left for school.

Advertisement

No one was injured in the fire, which is why Rene Ulloa said he considers himself lucky.

"There's not much left inside," he said.

Ulloa and his family went back into the house later in the day Tuesday to grab whatever the fire didn't destroy.

"It's our home," he said. "You can see it's gone. Now we've got to start all over again."

Firefighters said there were some clues that suggest the fire wasn't an accident. The back door was wide open when crews arrived. Electronics that had been in the house just before the fire were missing.

"They're not sure if it was gasoline or something else, but they said, 'Yeah, they did it on purpose,'" Ulloa said.

He said they have had several recent break-ins at the house and had recently built a fence out front.

Ulloa said the family bought the home with cash five years ago so they could set aside money that used to pay rent to save money for college educations.

"It's sad because I thought this area would be better, and it's getting worse," he said. "It's getting worse every day."

He said he's not sure what his family will do when Red Cross assistance ends.

"We'll get our personal stuff, close the door and that's it," he said.

He said he doesn't have homeowner's insurance because he couldn't get it. He said when insurance companies heard where he lived, they denied his coverage immediately or promised to send someone out who never showed up.